Indonesia contradicts Rudd team on Bali nine

By Tom Allard, Jakarta

INDONESIAN authorities are standing by claims that an Australian government official warned them of the sensitivities of executing members of the Bali nine in an election year.

An Indonesian official yesterday reaffirmed his version of events after it was reported in The Age and later denied by senior Rudd ministers.

The Age reported that the Australian embassy's political counsellor in Jakarta, Paul Griffiths, warned about the sensitivities of the Bali nine in a meeting with officials at the Indonesian Attorney-General's office.

One of those officials, Didiek Darmanto, said yesterday the report was correct and repeated his statement that Mr Griffiths had said the fate of the Australian trio was a ''sensitive political issue ahead of the election''.

Scott Rush, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are preparing their final appeals as they try to avoid execution for attempting to import heroin into Australia from Bali.

Asked about report, acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said: ''It's not true. We would never tie the circumstances of people potentially facing death row … to the election cycle.

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''We will make the strongest representations that we can, at the appropriate time always, regardless of the political cycle.''

In a separate statement, Mr Crean said: ''The Australian embassy has formally advised that its staff did not link Australians facing the death penalty with political processes in Australia.''

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard also denied that ''elections and political events in Australia'' were discussed.

Mr Griffiths has not been permitted to give his side of the story, with inquiries referred to Canberra. Given eight hours to respond on Wednesday, Department of Foreign Affairs officials did not deny the story.